United States v. Luck

• Decision Date: 31 March 2017
• Docket Number: No. 15-5746,15-5746
• Citation: 852 F.3d 615
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Lindell LUCK, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

852 F.3d 615

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.Lindell LUCK, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 15-5746

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: March 9, 2017

Decided and Filed: March 31, 2017

ARGUED: Jeffrey B. Lazarus, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant. Kevin G. Ritz, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, Memphis, Tennessee, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Jeffrey B. Lazarus, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant. Kevin G. Ritz, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, Memphis, Tennessee, for Appellee.

Before: CLAY, SUTTON, and GRIFFIN, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge.

Charged with possession and distribution of child pornography, defendant Lindell Luck sought, unsuccessfully, to force the government to stipulate to the child-pornographic nature of the material recovered from his laptops. On appeal, he contends that the district court's refusal to force the stipulation violated the Supreme Court's decision in Old Chief v. United States , 519 U.S. 172, 117 S.Ct. 644, 136 L.Ed.2d 574 (1997), which enforced a similar stipulation for felon status in felon-in-possession cases. We disagree. Overlooked in defendant's presentation is an important caveat from Old Chief . "[O]ur holding," Old Chief said, "is limited to cases involving proof of felon status," id. at 183 n.7, 117 S.Ct. 644 —an explicit limitation that this court has relied on in rejecting previous attempts to expand Old Chief . We do so again, and hold that, in light of the explicit limitation on Old Chief 's holding, as well as the material distinctions between felon status and the nature of the images in child pornography cases, the district court did not err in refusing to force the government to stipulate. Finding no reversible error in defendant's remaining claims on appeal, we affirm.

I.

In August 2012, agents with the FBI Crimes Against Children Task Force discovered someone at 3425 Porters Gap Road in Halls, Tennessee, was using the Internet to download and share child pornography. They sought a search warrant for the home, which they executed on October 24, 2012. When they arrived, lead agents Aaron Thompson and Keith Melancon introduced themselves to the homeowner, Donnie Luck, and asked that he gather the other family members in the living room. There, agents told Donnie, his wife, Lynne Luck, and their twenty-one-year-old, live-in son (and defendant here), Lindell Luck, the reason for their visit. According to Thompson, they told the Lucks they were free to leave while they executed the search warrant, but that they would like to ask them some questions. Although Donnie and Lynne did not recall being told they could leave, everyone agreed to answer questions.

Agents began with a round of general investigative questions until an answer to one question caught Thompson's attention: Lindell indicated that he had used something called a peer-to-peer file sharing network—the type of computer program that agents knew was used to download and share the pornographic material from 3425 Porters Gap Road. When agents heard this, they asked to speak with Lindell privately, offering to spare Lindell from having to answer embarrassing questions in front of his parents. Lindell and his parents agreed, and he and the agents departed to a nearby bedroom.

Once everyone got settled, Lindell divulged that he had viewed child pornography when he was younger. He told agents that a friend downloaded files onto his laptop using a peer-to-peer network, and also gave him a thumb drive with child pornography. The laptop, however, was not in the house because it was being repaired for viruses. Agents asked if they could have a look at his online activity, and Lindell agreed. After their conversation ended, Lindell rejoined his mother and father in the living room.

Meanwhile, the agents' search progressed to defendant's bedroom, where they found another laptop that the family failed to disclose during the initial round of questioning.

They asked to speak with Lindell again, and he agreed. Confronted with the latest discovery, Lindell changed his story. He told agents that he had viewed child pornography as recently as a week and a half ago, describing the type of peer-to-peer network he used to do so. He also clarified that he put child pornography on the thumb drive, not his friend. Agents asked if he would like to put his latest statement in writing. He agreed, but not before agents advised him of his right to remain silent, that any statement he made was completely voluntary, and that he did not have to give a statement. He dictated the following statement to agent Thompson:

I, Lindell "Logan" Luck, am giving this statement freely and voluntarily without threats or force from Law Enforcement. I have been advised of my right to refuse such statement and remain silent. I have requested Special Agent Thompson to write this statement as I tell it in my words.

I began looking at child pornograph [sic] when I was younger with a friend, Colton, and it grew into a habit. I do not get sexual gratification from it. I do it to relieve stress because it gives me a sense of control in my life. I want to stop but I've never been able to stop on my own from looking at it. I'm sorry for putting everyone though what I've put them through—my family.

After reviewing Thompson's transcription for accuracy, Lindell signed the statement. The search ended a short while later.

According to Lindell, he has no memory of anything that occurred during the search, a consequence, he says, of the medications he was taking that "pretty much make [him] turn into a zombie anywhere between an hour and a half to two hours" after he wakes up.

The fruits of the search resulted in a three-count indictment against Lindell for distributing and possessing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2), (a)(4)(B). In the lead up to trial, the parties filed three motions that are at issue in this appeal.

First, defendant filed a motion to suppress the statements he gave to agents, contending that they were the product of "custodial interrogation" without the required Miranda warnings. He alternatively argued that the statements were involuntary under the Due Process Clause. The district court disagreed with both contentions and denied the motion.

Defendant also filed a motion to require the government to stipulate that the images recovered from his laptops depicted child pornography, thereby obviating the need to show them to the jury. The district court denied the motion, holding that "[t]he Government is entitled to prove its case free from any obligation to stipulate to the [e]vidence."

Finally, the government filed a motion in limine to exclude evidence of Lindell's physical and mental health and learning disability. Deferring decision on the motion until trial, the district court granted the motion after defendant made an offer of proof about what Lynne would say regarding defendant's medical history and its lasting effects. The district court ruled that her testimony was inadmissible because, although probative in some respects, it raised a "significant risk of confusion about what the case is about."

At trial, defendant also attempted to put Donnie on the stand for the sole purpose of invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in response to questions about whether he viewed or downloaded child pornography. Over defendant's objection, the district court prevented him from doing so, finding that it would have "no probative value at all."

At the close of trial, the jury found defendant guilty as charged, and the district court sentenced him to 78 months in prison.

II.

Defendant first argues that his statements to agents were inadmissible for two alternative reasons: one, he was "in custody" when agents questioned him without first advising him of his rights; and two, the agents used coercive conduct that rendered his statements involuntary under the Due Process Clause. In resolving these claims, we "review[ ] the district court's factual findings for clear error and its legal conclusions de novo." United States v. Binford , 818 F.3d 261, 267 (6th Cir. 2016).

A.

Law enforcement officials are required to advise a person of their Miranda rights before engaging in "custodial interrogation." See Miranda v. Arizona , 384 U.S. 436, 444–45, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). As the quoted phrase implies, this requirement applies "only where there has been such a restriction on a person's freedom as to render him ‘in custody.’ " Oregon v. Mathiason , 429 U.S. 492, 495, 97 S.Ct. 711, 50 L.Ed.2d 714 (1977). In determining whether a person is "in custody" for purposes of Miranda , courts look to "the objective circumstances of the interrogation ... to determine how a reasonable person in the position of the individual being questioned would gauge the breadth of his or her freedom of action[.]" United States v. Panak , 552 F.3d 462, 465 (6th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The ultimate inquiry is whether, under the totality of the circumstances, the interviewee's freedom of movement was restrained to a degree associated with formal arrest. Id. If so, he is "in custody" for purposes of Miranda . Guiding the inquiry are four, non-exhaustive factors: "(1) the location of the interview; (2) the length and manner of the questioning; (3) whether there was any restraint on the individual's freedom of movement; and (4) whether the individual was told that he or she did not need to answer the questions." United States v. Hinojosa , 606 F.3d 875, 883 (6th Cir. 2010).

Under the totality of the circumstances, defendant was not "in custody." To begin, defendant was questioned in his home, a fact that typically weighs against being "in custody." Panak , 552 F.3d at 466. As for "the length and manner of the questioning," Hinojosa , 606 F.3d at 883, agents interviewed defendant for roughly an hour, in two separate...